The Philippines expected to have a record 10 million international tourists in 2016, the year that President Benigno Aquino III leaves office. The figure is more than double last year’s total 4.3 million, the first time the country broke the 4-million mark but still short of last’s 4.6 million goal.

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It’s Mr. Jimenez’s job to hit the 10 million mark, packing the Southeast Asian country’s airports, cabs and hotels, and providing extra work for the myriad of Filipinos — from the horse carriage driver to the sidewalk masseuse — who provide services to tourists.

But even if Mr. Jimenez hits the mark, the country’s visitor arrivals will still pale in comparison to neighbors Thailand and Malaysia. Thailand received 22.3 million visitors while Malaysia had 25 million in 2012.

Mr. Jimenez said the Philippines has challenges that Thailand and Malaysia don’t. For example, 98% of visitors to the island-filled Philippines arrive by plane. A better yardstick by which to measure the Philippines, he argued, is Australia, an island that had 6.3 million visitors last year.

“The implication of that is if we reach 10 million by 2016, we would have overtaken not Thailand and Malaysia but Australia,” he said.

He also pointed out that, since virtually all international visitors to the Philippines come by air, they spend three or four times more than those that just cross the border to reach their destination, giving a bigger boost to the economy.

The Philippine government has identified tourism as a future driver of economic growth and has earmarked $1.3 billion to build tourism infrastructure, including more than 2,000 kilometers of roads leading to major tourism destinations. Air and sea ports are also being upgraded.

Mr. Jiminez said the Philippines should look at tourism as an “export business because it generates more returns than any export product.” He said the country must realize that tourism remains a competitive industry.

“The tourist has only one suitcase, and the next country is just one mouse click away,” he said.

After the launch last year of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” as the tourism campaign’s slogan, critics were quick to point out that it sound very close to the 1951 Swiss tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in Switzerland.”

Mr. Jimenez, who was an advertising executive before joining the government, responded to the critics: “No one can own that expression, ‘It’s more fun.’ But it’s very true for the Philippines, so it becomes ours.”

About Southeast Asia Real Time

Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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